Red Sox are World Series champions again: Can you believe it?

By Robby McKittrickCorrespondent

Friday

Nov 2, 2018 at 12:07 PMNov 2, 2018 at 12:07 PM

The Red Sox season could only end one way, right?

With the ball in David Price’s hands to give the Sox an opportunity to win its first World Series since 2013 – it had been a rough five years without a championship – you simply could not script it any better.

A guy who was ridiculed, mocked and booed off the mound throughout his first three inconsistent seasons in Boston, and a guy who historically has not been able to pitch well in big moments, had the ball to clinch the World Series, and he was simply outstanding.

Besides a first pitch opposite field home run by David Freese, Price was flawless, going seven innings while allowing just that one earned run.

You can’t make this stuff up!

This was the third straight outstanding playoff start for Price, and if the first two starts weren’t enough, this last one finally put the critics to bed – who were initially correct – who said that Price couldn’t pitch in the playoffs.

Now, the Price story is terrific, and it will be discussed ad nauseum on sports talk radio and TV during the upcoming weeks, but let’s get into the other storylines on what allowed this team to win another World Championship for the City of Champions.

Dave Dombrowski

Coming into the 2018 season, there was frustration among Red Sox fans – me in particular – with the makeup of this team.

They were talented, but after two first-place finishes and quit exits in the playoffs, it just didn’t feel like this team had enough to win.

However, a few moves by Dombrowski in the offseason and during the season made this championship-caliber team into a World Series winner.

Alex Cora

Getting rid of John Farrell was the biggest change the Sox needed. However, they needed the right person to come in and change the atmosphere of the team.

Alex Cora was the perfect guy.

Whether it was an upper management move or Dombrowski himself, who pushed for Cora, the choice was clearly a good one.

From Day 1, I loved everything about Cora. First of all, he is just the antithesis of Farrell. He is likable, he is funny and he is charismatic.

But beyond those great personality traits, he gave the Sox a much-needed confidence boost that carried them through the year. Like Cora, the Sox exhibited a quiet confidence all year long, which ended with them playing "New York, New York" during the locker room celebration at Dodgers Stadium Sunday night.

In addition to improving the team’s mental makeup and connecting with the players, fans and media on a personal level, Cora also made great in-game decisions. This was another huge upgrade from Farrell, who was absolutely terrible at in-game managing.

Cora generally made the right moves during the regular season – besides his refusal to ever pinch-hit for JBJ – and his good luck was just plain stupid in the postseason.

I mean, everything he did worked. It was absurd!

Joe Kelly arguably should not have made the ALDS roster, and not only did he make it he became essentially the best reliever in baseball. He received the ball in the eighth inning of Sunday’s clinching game.

Out of all of the relievers on the team, Cora had the most faith in Kelly with the championship on the line. Think about that for a second. This is Kelly we are talking about!

And, of course, Kelly was phenomenal.

In addition, beyond the Kelly decision, Cora managed the bullpen, starting rotation and positional players almost perfectly. He also seemed to always play the right guy in the right game at the right moment.

In Game 4 on Saturday night, Cora elected to pinch hit Mitch Moreland, even though he looked terrible at the plate in the previous three games, and, of course, Moreland went yard.

Cora started JBJ in Game 1 over Andrew Benintendi, and JBJ belted a huge home run.

Cora played Eduardo Nuñez over Rafael Devers, and Nuñez succeeded. Then, he played Devers over Nuñez, and Devers was great. The same story can be repeated when he played Brock Holt and Ian Kinsler, as well. The number of decisions that Cora nailed can go on and on and on to a point where even the most pessimistic of Sox fans had to say "In Cora we trust."

Cora didn’t always make the right moves – playing Kinsler too frequently – but it seemed like everything he touched, worked.

Right now, Boston sports teams have an elite list of managers and coaches, and Cora deserves to be at the top of the hierarchy. Dombrowski deserves enormous credit for hiring the right leader and baseball guy to manage this team.

J.D. Martinez

Martinez was one of the best, if not the best, offseason signing of all time by the Red Sox organization. As I mentioned, the Sox were a first-place team, but they needed a way to improve. They just seemed stuck. Yes, Cora had a big influence on this team, but Martinez was the guy who changed the entire lineup.

Mookie Betts will probably be the MVP of the American League this season. But in my opinion, Martinez was the most important player on the Red Sox.

Dombrowksi elected to sign Martinez instead of Giancarlo Stanton over the offseason, and the decision looks great in hindsight. It was another win for Dave.

Steve Pearce, Nathan Eovaldi

I am going to keep Ian Kinsler off the list of good moves by Dombrowski for good reason, but Steve Pearce and Nathan Eovaldi were two huge midseason acquisitions that made him look like an absolute genius.

Pearce won the MVP of the World Series after clutch performances in games four and five. He gave the Sox a much-needed No. 3 hitter against lefties during the season and in the playoffs.

I don’t know where to start with Eovaldi. Somehow, some way, Eovaldi simply became the best pitcher in Major League Baseball in the playoffs.

I cannot express enough in words how good Eovaldi was in the postseason. The story will be on Price, as it should be. People will talk about Sale getting the ball in the ninth to close it out. But let’s not forget about Eovaldi. The guy was the real postseason MVP for the Red Sox. There is no doubt about it.

Like Kelly, Eovaldi had troubles with consistency in the regular season. At times, he was brilliant. At other times, he was terrible. Both of these players have electric stuff, and when they are right, they are unhittable.

For whatever reason, like Kelly, Eovaldi found his best stuff and command in the playoffs, and became the guy for the big moment.

For what can be best described as a heroic, Schilling bloody-sock type of performance in Game 3 when he went six innings out of the bullpen, throwing almost 100 pitches after back-to-back bullpen appearances, Eovaldi took one for the team with that memorable extra innings epic performance, and was subsequently embraced by Boston fans.

In the postseason, Eovaldi pitched in six games, had two starts, two wins, and a 1.61 ERA in 22.1 innings, and truly had one of the best overall pitching performances in a long time.

Dombrowski elected to trade for Eovaldi, instead of getting a bullpen arm like Zach Britton in what can be considered a Danny Ainge-type steal, and it paid off big-time.

Time to reflect

Before the season, it just didn’t feel like this Sox team had a chance. But right out of the gate, they showed that they were truly special. They went on a tear to begin the year, and were dominating the American League with a 19-5 record. But as the season developed, there were two major concerns, starting pitching and the bullpen. We knew the offense could hit, but could you really rely on this starting rotation? Could you really rely on this bullpen?

People were pessimistic. They called the bullpen a "fatal flaw." I was concerned, but hopeful.

But fast forward to the World Series and the biggest weaknesses became the team’s strength!

Out of the bullpen, Kelly, Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes had a 0.29, 1.04, and 1.04 ERA, respectively. And don’t forget about Eovaldi, Porcello, Price and Sale’s work out of the pen, as well.

It is laughable how well the relievers and starting pitchers performed in the playoffs. Somehow, Price finally pitched well, Eovalid became a god and Kelly lived up to his potential.

Not only that but the two biggest mysteries / weaknesses of this team in the playoffs were its two original strengths – Craig Kimbrel and Sale. And it didn’t matter!

There was a reason to doubt this team. The bullpen was terrible in the regular season. There was no way you could feel good about Price in the playoffs. But if we have learned anything from this Red Sox team and Alex Cora this season, it is that you throw logic and reason aside and accept the inevitable that this Red Sox team was destined to win the World Series.

They had the best record in baseball all season long. They clearly had character, and were mentally tough. They had the swagger and confidence, and played the game in an aggressive fashion, which we never saw under Farrell. They had a camaraderie that was infectious. The players generally seemed to like each other, and you could see it as a fan.

In addition, the players were just easy to root for. How can you not root for a guy like JBJ to succeed after all of his struggles? How can you not root for Price in the postseason after his past failures? How can you not root for Brock Holt, who is still the most beloved character in Boston?

In Boston, we are spoiled. It’s true. I am 23-years-old, and since I was six, we have had 11 championships in Boston. Since I was nine, we have had four World Series titles. It’s ridiculous.

As we bask in glory after another World Championship, it is easy to take it for granted. The more you win, the less meaningful the wins become. However, a championship is always special. This team was special, and we need to appreciate it.